Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed - PDMA

gates as per WAPDA’s O and M safety Manual. The management
had diverted 150,000-200,000 cusecs to its power-house and
Chashma-Jhelum Link canal and some through its CRBC besides
impounding 0.31 MAF against barrage’s gross capacity of 0.32
MAF.
u) The next major controlled structure downstream was Taunsa
Barrage with an upgraded design discharge capacity of 1.1 million
cusecs; on 2 nd August that barrage passed a seasonal peak
discharge of 959,891 cusecs, but a 2.4 km length of the LMB, next
to Tibba Tie minor, refurbished during 2008-09, collapsed before
the water reached its crest.
v) That breach in turn triggered almost 10 breaches on nearby
Sunawan Bund and 13 breaches on other secondary bunds (5,000
ft) on the banks of T.P. Link Canal and Muzaffargarh Canal during
2-4 th August.
w) The above breaches had diverted 125, 000 cusecs to inundate vast
areas in Muzaffargarh’s Kot Addu sub-division that remained
exposed to an unprecedented havoc for 17 days. The breach was
closed by constructing a new bund within 20 days by 24/7
deployment of machinery and personnel.
x) On the right side, the rising water threatened the various spurs
including spur no 5 upstream Taunsa, initially erected in 1958 at the
time of constructing the barrage with a view to divert the natural
river course.
y) While locals were strongly of the view that right bank escape could
have prevented the LMB disaster, that recourse could not have
given much relief due to modest capacity of 5-10,000 cusecs
especially as peak discharge of 1.1 million cusecs had not reached
Taunsa.
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